How we examined
You may’t decide a laptop computer by its look or marketed specs alone. As such, Mashable makes use of a radical hands-on testing course of to assessment and suggest the finest laptops to our readers.
The majority of this laptop computer testing occurs as a part of an on a regular basis workflow whereby reviewers deal with their testing models as day by day drivers. We consider it is vital to see precisely how a laptop computer capabilities in a real-world setting, not in a lab, to precisely seize the person expertise.
We complement these trial runs with industry-standard efficiency benchmarks. These are simply repeatable exams that produce scores we are able to use to quantify and examine totally different laptops’ processing energy. We additionally put each laptop computer by means of a battery life check, which varies relying on the kind of laptop computer. For gaming laptops, we tack on two further benchmarks that measure machines’ graphical capabilities.
We report the findings of our testing in a rubric, and every laptop computer will get scored on a five-point scale on the premise of efficiency, design/construct high quality, battery life, and worth. This rubric standardizes scoring throughout our laptop computer opinions and permits us to attract granular comparisons between fashions. A 0/5 is a flop that ought to be prevented in any respect prices, whereas a 5/5 is a laptop computer we will not stay with out. Any laptop computer that scores a 4.5/5 or increased receives a Mashable Selection Award.
The best-scoring laptops are featured on this information to one of the best laptops. We additionally add them to our roundups of the finest low-cost laptops, the finest Home windows laptops, the finest MacBooks, and the finest gaming laptops as relevant.
Learn our full laptop computer testing methodology.
What’s on deck
We’ll quickly check the next laptops:
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The Asus ZenBook A14, a featherlight Copilot+ PC with a sturdy “Ceraluminum” chassis, an OLED show, and a ridiculous rated battery lifetime of as much as 32 hours per cost. I briefly checked it out at CES 2025, and it took house our Better of CES laptop computer class award.
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The Asus Vivobook S 15, a sub-$1,000 Copilot+ PC with a 3K OLED show, an RGB backlit keyboard, and a rated battery lifetime of as much as 19 hours.
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The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9), a good-looking mid-ranger with an OLED touchscreen and a rated battery lifetime of as much as 23.5 hours.
I even have the bottom Intel-powered Framework Laptop computer 13 in hand for testing, however as talked about up high, it is quickly unavailable for buy within the U.S. due to tariffs. I am going to attempt it will definitely after I work by means of the remainder of my backlog, but when it scores effectively, I will not make it a featured choose on this information till U.S. customers should buy it once more.
What we have examined currently (that did not make the minimize)
I am recent off testing the Dell XPS 13 (9450), a 2024 Lunar Lake PC that is the final of its type. (Dell phased out the XPS collection earlier this yr.) It is simply one of many prettiest and most trendy laptops I’ve ever gotten my palms on, largely due to its edge-to-edge design and the tandem OLED touchscreen show on my assessment unit: It is luscious, brilliant, and completed with an Anti-Mirror coating that makes it proof against annoying glares. At 13.4 inches, the XPS 13 is an ultraportable stunner.
What’s extra, the XPS 13 lasted over over 13 hours in our battery life check. That is not an particularly lengthy runtime in comparison with different Home windows laptops in our database, nevertheless it’s effectively above the class’s present median and stable for a machine with such a flowery show.
Nevertheless, the XPS 13 over-prioritizes type over operate in a number of ways in which I discovered irritating. Its zero-lattice keyboard is cramped, stiff, and topped off by an odd contact operate row. Its fussy, fallible touchpad would click on after I wished to scroll and drag after I wished to click on, and I could not really feel its haptics even after I had them turned all the best way up. Most egregiously, the XPS 13 solely has two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports — there’s not even a headphone jack! (First, they got here for our smartphones…)
The general worth prop for its internals simply is not there, both. My mid-range Intel Core Extremely 256V loaner with 16GB of reminiscence and 512GB of storage prices $1,849.99. (Most Home windows laptops and MacBooks we have examined in that worth vary are stronger performers with at the very least 1TB of storage, and a few have double the RAM.) Granted, the XPS 13 begins at $1,199.99 when you scrap its tandem OLED show, which is an non-obligatory add-on, however I believe that is certainly one of its largest attracts. I in the end rated it a 3.8/5.
In January, I examined the HP OmniBook Extremely Flip 14, a 2-in-1 Lunar Lake laptop computer priced at $1,899.99 as examined (with an Intel Core Extremely 258V processor, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage). It is a completely gorgeous machine with a colourful 3K OLED touchscreen show, a satisfying keyboard, a velvety touchpad, and a darkish aluminum chassis that provides it a moody and chic look. It additionally lasted a powerful 15 hours in our battery life check. That stated, it has some baffling port placements, mediocre bottom-firing audio system, an oversaturated webcam, and disappointing efficiency benchmark outcomes.
In a Geekbench 6 multi-core check, my OmniBook Extremely Flip 14 scored barely decrease than the M2-powered MacBook Air from 2023 and considerably decrease than its personal predecessor. That may be final yr’s HP Spectre x360 14, which had a mid-range Core Extremely Sequence 1 processor as examined. I anticipated far more from a machine with Intel’s freshest higher mid-range CPU.
Finally, I rated the OmniBook Flip 14 a 4.4/5 — very respectable, however simply wanting being a Mashable Selection Award winner. It is a flashy premium hybrid for splurgers who need a future-proofed laptop computer that will not work very exhausting, however the zippier Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 looks like a greater worth for most individuals at $1,449.99 as examined.
For those who’re selecting between the 2 HP fashions, I am additionally tempted to suggest the Spectre x360 14 over the OmniBook Extremely Flip 14. It affords extra energy and higher top-firing audio system for a comparable worth.
